Wednesday, January 29, 2014

As I sit here and reflect upon my iPad journey, I am in awe of my third grade students and how they are soaring after four days of having iPads in our classroom.

For me, my journey took off a bit bumpy. I am thankful our district sets high standards not only for students, but also for staff. Upon taking the Apple Foundation Training provided by our district, I felt like one of my third graders learning a new concept for the first time. Our district technology trainers, Ann Feldmann, Jenny Krzystowczy, and Brent Catlett are simply the best! They pushed me beyond my own comfort zone, which hasn't happened in a long time in my 28 years in the education profession. The start of my journey has been a wonderful learning experience, even though at times I feel apprehensive. Our tech experts encouraged me to start using twitter, apply for the iPad Academy, and create a blog about our iPad journey.

That being said, what is most important is the positive impact it has had on my students' learning! I don't know who is more excited to go to school each day.....my students or myself! In four short days of having a 1:1 iPad classroom, we would like to share some of our learning experiences that tie in directly with our district curriculum.

My third graders have already mastered iTunes U, much quicker than I did. They send their Daily Language Review and their Math Spiral/Problem of the Day to Notability. They complete their assignments, which they are more accountability for, because we use Reflector to airplay their work to share with our team. They will then send it to Google Drive for their parents to view at home, after Coach Feldmann helps us set up their drive on Friday.

The first app my third graders worked with was ScreenChomp! They had a blast. They shared information about what they have recently learned in math, and then they recorded the steps you would take to solve the problems. They were excited to share their work on reflector using airplay.

Also in math, we started using Khan Academy. Some of my third graders are already multiplying three-digit numbers and doing long division with remainders! Others are still working on addition and subtraction! INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION is what it is all about!

As for our Social Studies curriculum, this week they used Popplet. My third graders created a history map of Benjamin Franklin, and they are currently creating one on George Washington.

During reading, they used Explain Everything to create presentations for their new vocabulary words.

For guided reading and Daily Five, my third grade team started using Audioboo. This also goes along with Fountas and Pinnell, which our district began implementing this year. They record themselves reading a selected text on their level. After they are finished they save their recording and listen to it. Students then complete a Fluency Self-Evaluation. They create reading goals for themselves on what they feel they need to improve. Their files are saved...now they have a portfolio of their reading fluency/accuracy to share with their parents.

We are also using Raz-Kids as part of our guided reading and Daily Five. Students have book cases assigned to them that are on their specific reading level. After taking a comprehension test on a selected book, the information gathered gives specific deficits and assists in decisions along with their RIT Bands on what needs to be addressed and retaught during RTI and guided reading groups.

My third grade team loves to blog! I know they are much comfortable at it than I am. Here is our link to Kidblog! Please feel free to add comments... Third Grade Classroom Blog

Up next...creating a Haiku Deck using adjectives!

Thanks again to Ann, Brent, and Jen...Best tech coaches ever! Thanks for all your support and encouragement! I also appreciate all the help from colleagues as well as +Michelle Klamm and +Darin Toelle who are great role models on how a 1:1 iPad classroom can be a huge success!

Wow!! Four days and going strong as we continue to Up Paddle as we
iPaddle along. I wonder if my third graders are as tired as I am?!?!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

As our third grade classroom embarks on our new journey I thought it was important to set up the groundwork prior to actually getting the iPads.One of the first things my third grade team did was come up with some iWill iPad Rules! We want to make sure we are responsible and take care of our new learning tools. Here is what my team came up with for our iPad iWill Constitution.

After creating our iPad Constitution as a class, each member of our third grade team signed a license stating they will be responsible for their iPad.

Our iPad charging station is up and ready to go! All our third grade team is patiently waiting for is our iPad Airs! Should be arriving this week!

Setting up our fancy charging station!

All equipment accounted for!

Power Strips Ready

Ready for Action!

Next up....How will my iPad enrich my learning experience as a third grader?

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Monica Evon

I am a fourth grade teacher from Nebraska, and this is my thirty-second year in the education profession. I am passionate about my students, teaching, and learning! I love using technology to enhance learning opportunities. 1:1 iPad Classroom

"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." John Dewey